First, gather two pot-shaped items to use as molds. They don’t have to be the same shape as long as one is a few inches taller, wider, and deeper than the other. The only other things you’ll need are cooking oil, a small paint brush, concrete, and water and a pail to mix them in.

Get your concrete mixed to packaged directions. Oil the inside of your larger mold and the outside of the smaller one with the cooking oil. Your paint brush will come in handy for oiling the molds. Fill your large mold with concrete. Leave roughly one inch of space toward the top. Bear in mind that the small mold will displace some of the concrete upward. Tap the mold to release excess air and bubbles, and level out the top of the concrete.

When you get the large mold filled, press the oiled smaller mold into it, leaving about an inch or so of concrete for the bottom of the planter. For the larger the pot, the bottom may need to be thicker for sturdiness. Fill the smaller inside mold with rocks to weight it down.

Allow the concrete to dry for approximately 24 to 48 hours. The drying time should follow the concrete package instructions as some concretes are quick-drying. When completely set, gently remove the inside and outside molds. If there are any exceptionally sharp areas of concrete, file them down. You can purchase a file, or you can use a rough stone from your yard.

If you want to decorate your planters, use sealer, primer and elastomeric paint. If your concrete planters will be in a protected area, you can skip the sealer. With sealer and primer first, concrete painting should hold up quite well to the elements. Either way, it may require two to three coats of paint to get your desired color saturation and effect.

This method of concrete item-making can be used for many things, not just planters. You can use small molds to make heavy-duty outdoor candle holders. Those come in very handy for citronella candles in the summer when the mosquitoes are biting your garden-party guests.

When you get really good at working with the concrete, you can move up to larger projects, like birdbaths and benches. Just remember, you can use almost anything as a mold. Just make sure it is extremely well oiled and potentially disposable. You don’t want to use anything expensive that can’t be tossed out if it should break in the unmolding process.

These concrete projects make great personalized gifts for other gardeners in your life. Gardeners aside, any friend or family member that enjoys spending time in their outdoor space could probably find a good use for your concrete pieces, and you will too!